July 23, 2007

Dissecting the AMT Debate

For more information, contact: Nate Bailey at (202) 464-5102.

Washington, DC, July 13, 2007 - As the debate and rhetoric surrounding the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) continue to heat up, the Tax Foundation has released Fiscal Fact No. 94, "Questions and Answers on the Alternative Minimum Tax."  The document tackles the most common questions about, and most common misperceptions of, the AMT, along with Tax Foundation analysis of ways to address the AMT and to improve the tax system overall.

The Q&A is available online at: http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/22497.html.

For more information on the AMT from the Tax Foundation, please see:

• The Impact of the AMT by State, based on recently-released 2005 IRS data
• The Impact of the AMT by Congressional District, based on 2004 IRS data
• Research on The Effects of the 2001/2003 Bush Tax Cuts on AMT and Non-AMT Returns for 2007, as well as table showing the income distributions of those effects
• The Tax Foundation report on which Congressional districts are most and least affected by the AMT and determining factors
• Tax Foundation research on the correlation between taxpayers owing the AMT and having income from capital gains
• A table showing the History of Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) Returns and Liabilities
• Two Tax Foundation Special Reports, one explaining how some AMT filers actually pay much less than other taxpayers who earn an equal income and don't pay the AMT (Fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax) and another that offers a specific, revenue-neutral reform plan with four tax cuts and four tax hikes, A Progressive AMT Fix Without Higher Tax Rates

The nonpartisan, nonprofit Tax Foundation has monitored tax policy at the federal, state and local levels since 1937. Best known for its annual calculation of Tax Freedom Day^®, the Tax Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization.

For more information, contact: Nate Bailey at (202) 464-5102.